TJX shines among discounters in October

New York — The TJX Cos. turned in the strongest performance among the discounters in October, reporting a 7% comp sales increase on Thursday.

According to TJX CEO Carol Meyrowitz, the above-plan performance has prompted the retailer to raise its outlook for the third quarter and full year. “We believe the momentum we are seeing in all of our businesses … bode well for the holiday selling season,” she said.

TJX sales for the period advanced 11% to $2.1 billion.

Costco posted a 5% rise in same-store sales, less fuel, which missed Wall Street’s expected 5.6% gain. The wholesale club operator said that the strongest regions for the month were San Diego, the Northeast and the Midwest.

Target Corp. reported a 2.4% same-store sales rise in October, which was near the low end of the company’s expected range, said Gregg Steinhafel, CEO. Its third-quarter same-store sales gain of 2.9% matched Target’s internal forecasts, he said.

Department stores strong in October, led by Nordstrom

New York — As the holidays approach and retailers are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, October same-store sales results showcased consistent strength in the department store category.

Nordstrom led the pack with a 9.8% rise in same-store sales for the month, and Macy’s Inc. had a solid showing as well.

“Business was strong in October,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s, Inc. “The key growth strategies we put in place three years ago continue to provide us new opportunities for continuous improvement in driving sales. We are feeling confident about our prospects for the upcoming holiday season and have increased our sales guidance for the fall season, despite the interruption caused by Hurricane Sandy in the first few days of the fourth quarter.”

Macy’s reported a 4.1% same-store sales rise in October and posted total sales of $1.908 billion for the four weeks ended Oct. 27, an increase of 3.6% compared with $1.842 billion in the prior-year period.
Macy’s said it is raising its guidance for same-store sales growth in the second half of 2012 to approximately 4% (an increase from previous guidance of up approximately 3.7%).

Kohl’s Corp. reported a 3.3% same-store sales rise on Thursday, and total sales increased 2.6% in the third quarter. The company also announced that it would no longer report monthly sales, effective fiscal 2013.

Other department store same-store sales results in October include:

Stage Stores beat Wall Street expectations with a 6.5% rise, when just 2.8% was forecast; and

October comps a mixed bag

New York — With retail books closed prior to Hurricane Sandy’s arrival in the Northeast, most retailers experienced same-store sales gains for the month of October, some with stronger showings than others.

The 17 retail chains tracked by Thomson Reuters are predicted to report 4.3% growth in October same-store sales, up slightly over the 4.1% advance reported in the year-ago period and a significant gain over September’s 0.8% rise.

Among specialty retailers, Gap and Limited showed the greatest muscle in a weaker October category, with lifted same-store sales of 4% and 3% respectively.

Gap Inc.’s swing to a 4% same-store sales gain in October from its 6% decrease in the same period last year represented measurable strides for the company, said CEO Glenn Murphy. “We’re very pleased with the continued momentum in the business across all brands in North America,” said Murphy. “Our focus remains on offering great product to our customers in order to sustain our business performance.” By brand, Gap North America recorded a 6% Oct. same-store sales gain versus negative 5% last year, Banana Republic North America was up 5% versus up just 1% last year, and Old Navy North America recorded a 5% same-store sales gain versus negative 9% last year.

For the quarter, Gap reported an 8% increase in net sales to $3.86 billion, and it has raised its third-quarter guidance 60% over last year.

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